Page 54 of Vengeance of the Pirate Queen

“I’ll guard the ship with my life,” Dimella says.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say. “A ship is only a thing. You protect the rest of the crew.”

She grins. “Well, I’d at least try to save the ship. The crew was a given, Captain. Who will you take ashore?”

“These two,” I say, gesturing to the men beside me. “Taydyn, Philoria, Bayla, and Visylla.” I list a handful more names.

“What about me?” The small voice comes from somewhere nearby, yet it isn’t until Roslyn’s head pokes over the companionway that I realize she was spying.

Sneaky little thing, indeed.

“You’re the ship’s lookout,” I say. “You need to be on the ship to keep a lookout. That’s the most important job right now.”

She scrunches up her face, as though trying to decide if I’m being sincere or just tricking her into staying. The answer is both, but she seems placated for now.

“I’ll have the boats lowered,” Dimella says, and she sees to it.

I make a stop at my quarters, grabbing as many weapons as will fit into my clothing. Knives in both boots. Knives inside my coat. Knives at my waist. I lose count somewhere after twelve. I take extra pistols, slinging them through a holster over one shoulder. Normally I prefer quiet weapons, but if we’re ambushed, stealth will cease to matter.

I grab my old rapier and bring it out on deck with me. When I spot Roslyn at the port side staring off at the island, I approach her.

She turns, and her eyes go straight to what I’m carrying. I hold it out to her.

She takes the rapier and unsheathes it, holding it up to the sky.

“We’ll work on form and stance later, but for now, you should have a weapon with a longer reach in case anything bad happens.”

“You’re giving me your old sword?”

I nod. “You’ll have to ask Dimella if she has a spare belt for you. You’ll likely have to cinch it high so the sheath doesn’t drag.”

I can’t tell if she hears me or not. She’s swinging the rapier in unpracticed arcs, lunging at invisible foes.

“I’ll take it away if you injure yourself or anyone in the crew with it,” I say.

She turns a glower on me. “I wouldnever. I haven’t done so with my dagger, and I’m not about to with my new sword. Thank you, Sorinda!”

She tries to run at me with the sword. Then remembers to turn the blade downward before grabbing me in a hug.

“Keep a sharp lookout,” I tell her.

“I always do.”

She’s staring at the weapon when I turn from her, approaching the party that’s gathered near the lowered rowboats.

Enwen squints out at the land. “I don’t see any sort of settlement. No one could survive in this temperature long without shelter.”

“Someone sank all these ships,” Kearan responds. “Maybe they’re hiding in the woods.”

“What if what lives out here isn’t human?”

“We’ll soon find out.”

Enwen tucks his beads into his coat.

I don’t say a word as I climb down into the nearest rowboat. Those chosen to go ashore follow quickly. We fit snugly into three boats and start the trip for shore.

Kearan rows in my boat, and I watch the land grow closer from over the top of his head. I get an eerie feeling as we drift farther fromVengeanceand the rest of the crew, but I can’t quite place it. I’m not afraid. I don’t think anything is going to jump out at us the second we reach shore. Besides, we’ll be able to take cover in the trees shortly after docking.

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